Wrestling

Wesleyan Wrestling Earns Several NEWA and NWCA Postseason Awards

Photo by Lianne Yun '18

Mar 25, 2019

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Several members of the Wesleyan University wrestling team earned postseason awards this week as the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) announced its end-of-the-year laurels and the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) released its academic honors. Highlighting the list for the Cardinals was Zack Murillo who was named the NEWA Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year, as well as an All-NEWA Second Team selection, an NWCA Division III Scholar Athlete award winner, and an All-NEWA Academic Team honoree.

Murillo was named NEWA Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year alongside Tyler Marsh of WPI. Murillo, who wrestles at 125, posted a 3.91 grade-point average as a double major in Economics and Math. He was also named an All-NEWA Second Team selection with a 28-10 record on the mat. Murillo finished second in the Northeast Regional to qualify for the National Championships, where he knocked off the No. 7 seed in the tournament.

Four Cardinals earned All-NEWA Honorable Mention; Tristan Stetson (133), James Matias (141), Shane Ross (149), and Simon Chee (197). Stetson and Matias both finished with identical records of 15-9, Ross went 22-14 with four pins, and Chee posted a 24-8 mark with eight pins. Additionally, Aaron Goldman (157) and Marco Gaita (174) were named to the NEWA All-Rookie Team with records of 19-16 and 15-11, respectively.

Academically, Wesleyan posted the third-best team GPA in Division III to earn a 2018-19 NWCA Division III Scholar Team Award. The NWCA takes the average GPA of a squad's 10 regional starters with up to four alternates. The Cardinals posted a mark of 3.714, ahead of Williams (3.627) and Trinity (n/a), while Ross, Murillo, and Stetson earned NWCA Division III Scholar Athlete Awards.